Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell joins Stoney and Jansen to discuss the 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears, the "Stumblebum" play, and preview the matchup with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.
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00:00Well, you always say next man up so with Costa on vacation you got next man back. How you doing coach?
00:07Doing good. I'm
00:09Yeah, it's got you back here Stoney. I
00:12What is anybody even listening right now? Isn't everybody gone on vacation? Oh, no
00:18Your appointment listening. Yes, even people that are on vacation. They have it on the app
00:23They want to hear you and see what you're gonna say to go viral like last week
00:27Maybe the only two working right now are the only three
00:31That's probable, all right with the holiday spirit we were talking about this earlier
00:35Do you remember what was the best sports Christmas gift you ever got as a kid? Oh
00:40God
00:41sports
00:44Sports Christmas gift. I don't I don't even know I did nothing is even entering my brain
00:51I
00:53Have to get back to you on that one. Let's I'll make this one
00:56So we'll just keep it a holiday tradition going here what I just made I let Stoney know that at the Jansen house
01:03Because Santa gets a lot of cookies and milk before he heads back to the North Pole
01:07When he stops at the Jansen house, he gets chicken wings and a beer
01:12What what does what does the Campbell house leave for Santa Claus?
01:18Yeah, it was pretty traditional it's the it's the chocolate chip cookies and it's the milk so it's there's nothing I love that one
01:26That's pretty rare. It's pretty unique
01:28And you know what Santa would absolutely love that because there's enough sweets to go around that night. Why not give a little grease?
01:37You'd leave Santa some coffee because you got a lot of work to do he's got to stay up all night
01:40Well
01:43Let's talk about what happened on Sunday except definitely a fun game to watch
01:48You had to be happy with some of the guys who?
01:51Play if he coming back and and mahogany. Could you talk about those two guys and what they showed you? Yeah, so
01:59Good to get if you back
02:01You know, like I say he we had tried to get him up before and then had another injury there another setback
02:08But he's been I mean he's been training he's been running
02:12Just hadn't had a lot of really football
02:15since you know early early training camp and so
02:21You know, we we did feel good about his conditioning. He's been in the meetings. He's had the right mindset
02:27And so we just felt like man, let's let's give him a go as long as practice looks pretty good. His feet are under him
02:33He's confident about
02:35Going and playing and he went in and I look man. I thought it was steady
02:39It was it was a solid performance, you know, it's like I said
02:44He's a little rusty and he should be rusty
02:47But there's there's things in there that are very promising and he's only going to get better getting his legs back under him
02:53He'll be better this week. He'll be better the week after that. So
02:57So that was that was good man, and then mahogany
03:00You know to be able to step in first time play a real NFL game, you know didn't get anything in the preseason
03:07But it's really shown us a lot in practice
03:10Since he's come back. I mean he's just steadily
03:13Gotten better and better every week and he's really everybody in the organization has been
03:19He's caught our eye and and it was it was pretty unanimous to give this guy
03:24Give him a go give him a chance. Let Graham heal up here a little bit
03:29And so he went in and did a nice job, you know, that was a good first step
03:34Was it perfect? No, but it's something to build off of and it's not too big for him
03:38So that's encouraging you mentioned that there are some things that you still got to clean up
03:43It was it was a fun game was a great game was a win
03:45But what are some of the things and let's just start offensively
03:49That you need to keep cleaning up as you prepare for San Francisco and ultimately, Minnesota to end the season
03:57Yeah
03:58There's these things that you know
04:03We just got it we got to finish a little bit in the past game, you know, I look we're handling the run game well
04:09and
04:11And we really for the most part made them one-dimensional
04:15Man, the efforts outstanding our physical nature
04:20But then there's some things in the past game, you know, we get these guys in first second long
04:25We got to be able to get off the field or if it's second down keep them in third and long and so some of
04:31that is
04:33You know just up front man when we when we run our games we run our stunts
04:38Like we have to be pinpoint on how we run those things like the detail at which we run them and how we run them
04:45He's got to be dead on to create disruption
04:48Up front. Those are the little things that we can get better at just as a starting point
04:53And then there's some things leverage wise on the back end that we know better than you know, we know better
04:58That we need to clean up but all in all the coverage is pretty damn good
05:03We're sticky moving a meek outside was awesome and branch and nickel, you know
05:09It just we're playing pretty good. They're in the back end right now. And so just the little things
05:14That's all things that don't require talent is what we got to get better at. I know
05:19What you always had belief in him
05:22But a lot of people were concerned that Gibbs wouldn't be able to handle the wear and the tear and you know
05:27The stuff up the middle but man he came through and shining colors
05:30No surprise to you. I imagine
05:33No, and you know, we've said this for a while. He
05:36He's not what I think people think he is, you know, and it falls into the you know
05:43I think you know
05:43You put people in boxes just because their skill level and it's like well because Gibbs is so dang fast and explosive
05:49Well, he's probably not an inside runner, but that's that's that's not the truth, you know, and it's like well because he is that
05:55he can't handle a load and
05:58And so no, he's quite the opposite of that now
06:01Does that mean we want to you know, give him 30 carries a game and they're all downhill. No, we don't want to do that
06:07But man, he can run any type of scheme
06:10He's an effective runner he's got vision
06:14Explosiveness hell we're out there on the grass
06:16And it really didn't affect him. And so that was good to see
06:20There's a couple of things down in the goal line area that he can be better at
06:25And he will be but man, whatever that was good to see out of him
06:30Seasons are different teams are different, you know, there's there's a lot of context
06:34But how much does the loss last year in the NFC Championship game play into the
06:41Mindset that your players may have or you may have going out to San Francisco on Monday night
06:47Well, I don't know. I don't know how much it'll play into it, you know now
06:52I'll say this the thought of going back out there their stadium their grass
06:57You know, it's you remember what that was like, I know that I don't I won't forget what that was like so
07:04But but it really is more about this is where we're at in this season
07:09We know we need to go out and win this game
07:11We have to and and it's the next game in front of us, you know
07:15And there's the things that we talked about we need to clean up from last week's game. We got to do that this week. So
07:23That's that's really our focal point and
07:27Obviously there the discussion about arresting guys for that game. It becomes moot because there's a scenario
07:34that if the Vikings
07:36win and
07:37The Lions lose the Vikings to come in here and win the division by tying you guys, right? So you have to play everybody
07:45Absolutely. You got to play everybody and and I don't even want to any type of mindset creeping in as to who were playing
07:53Who were not playing?
07:54We're not doing that man. We're gonna put our best foot forward. We're gonna put our best game plan together
07:59We're gonna play our best players and and we're gonna go out and do everything we can to win this game. That's that's the mindset
08:07The the focus is is obviously on San Francisco. We know how good they can be
08:13But with two games left when you start the season and it feels like it's long
08:17Now there's light at the end of the tunnel the postseason. You've already guaranteed that spot the number one seeds on the line
08:23How do you maintain focus not get too high not not not get too excited about
08:30What is to come but focus on this one single game?
08:34Yeah, I think that's a that's that's a valid question because it is you we really are now getting towards the end and
08:42It's it's more critical than ever that we stay focused on what's in front of us and it really
08:48meant stay out of the you know, stay out of all the
08:53You know, what happens if this goes down what happens here? What I meant just worry about winning the game
08:59We got to win the game in front of us. We we got to go out there and that's job number one
09:05That's where all our focus has to be and then after that we'll figure out the rest, you know
09:10we'll figure out what that means for the next week, but
09:13But it really is that simple and just continuing to hammer that message make sure they see that
09:20keep your focus there and
09:22And then everything else that happens around you it doesn't matter, you know it
09:29You'll know what you got to do the next week on on the touchdown to LaPorta the stumblebum play
09:35I haven't I'm curious who came up with the name stumblebum and
09:39Also when the play was called when it gets to your headset. So you like smiling inside
09:46Yeah, well so Ben
09:48Yeah, that was Ben's baby that he you know fought up and and and really off the play that we had seen he had seen
09:57last year
09:59Last year, we're getting ready for him
10:01And then and so really once it got cooked and I yeah, let's do this
10:07Then it was you know, I think he typed it in is that so I think it's his and he named it
10:12So he gets full credit for that
10:15and so yeah, I was
10:17Man, I was excited because I think we all felt like it was going to work
10:20I felt like it was going to work my only hold off was man
10:23I felt like we may have been a little tight, but but yet, you know, I didn't say anything. So
10:28Obviously agreed that it was not going to be so tight
10:31We couldn't get it done, but we had worked it a little bit farther back than where we called it. So
10:38But the action of it worked and golf made a heck of a throw LaPorta makes a heck of a catch and it's just
10:43It was well executed those guys did a great job
10:46Well-executed those guys did it perfect and it doesn't seem like much
10:50But it's it's a small thing that they turned into you know into seven
10:54I was watching a lot of the national shows yesterday and everybody was all excited about it breaking it down
10:58But I don't know was Damian Woody or one of Marcus Spears
11:01One of those guys said the only thing I didn't like about it is they used in a game where they were comfortably ahead
11:06Why not save it for a playoff game or something like that?
11:08Can you answer that criticism because to me you just use a play when it's when it's there, right?
11:14Yeah, man you prep these plays
11:18Now look you cook these things. They've been cooking for a long time. Most of these, you know since training camp
11:24But there's these things you come up with because you see
11:28Something you like versus that opponent on that opponent that you know this week. It's absolutely
11:35The conditions are right. They're perfect
11:38And so when you have those up and that's why you put them in the game plan
11:43If you have the opportunity to call them, you got to call them because there is no guarantee. It's going to work next week
11:48You know, it just there's not and so you don't hold anything back if it's meant for that opponent
11:54You got to find a way to use it
11:56look inevitably we come out of games and there's things we don't get to and
12:00You hold them and you see is there a place for it here and a lot of times there is but then there's a lot
12:06Of times it's not it's like we can't use that anymore, you know, maybe maybe next year, you know, so yeah, you got to use them
12:14One last question for you
12:16You and I as players. I'm sure there were times where I mean I had to practice on Christmas or we had to work
12:21It's just it's what we do especially at this time of the year with the Monday night game with Christmas being on Wednesday
12:27How are you guys handling the schedule for the players and their families?
12:32Yeah, it actually worked out really really good this year because of the Monday night that's one of the one of the rare
12:40benefits of what's going to happen this week and
12:44so, you know players will come in today and
12:47We'll get everything cleaned up and and then they're off tomorrow and I'm giving the coaches off tomorrow too for Christmas. So really
12:55And then we'll be in Thursday and that's our base day that's first second down work and we go right through so it actually worked out
13:02perfect
13:04Coaches have been here since yesterday
13:05So we're grinding these two days make sure we get everything ready get the game plan ready
13:10And when they walk in Thursday, we'll have it ready to go versus Sam for him
13:13But so worked out great. Everybody's going to get to be with their families for a day and enjoy that
13:19Finally any shot of Anzalone or Reeves Maven or any of those guys coming back this week?
13:26Well, we're hopeful for Reeves Maven this week. You know, we'll see where he's at. He got to start practicing last week and
13:34You know, we'll see what he looks like in practice this week how comfortable he is
13:39And there is a chance there. All right, Dan. Thank you very much. Merry Christmas
13:45And we'll talk to you next week. Merry Christmas guys
13:48Thank you very much. Dan Campbell head coach of your Detroit Lions on
13:5397 won the ticket